That's right this past weekend it was the time of year where we dust off the PFDs, load up the water guns, re-learn how to do a T-rescue, and prepare to defend against pirates and river rats and hit the old Delaware, that lazy stretch of river that people seem to think is the Colorado and rent giant rubber rafts thinking they'll get to see rapids! (and I glide by, point and giggle every year too.)
Frankly, I have never laughed so hard on a canoe trip before.
This year, we had 16 people (one of which was a Cub Scout) with 8 canoes, and we had a great time. The weather wasn't the best (it was overcast most of the day) but it was warm, the water was... I'll say refreshing, but we all know that really means cold as hell... and we had a really great group of people.
Every year, there is at least one "problem canoe" and this year was no exception, however, I wasn't expecting it to be from the Cubmaster, who is not only an Eagle Scout, but also an experienced canoer. Apparently, he, his cub scout, and the cub scout's father had an argument with gravity the day before, and gravity was definitely being a little vindictive.
Canoes work best when they are upright, not full of water, and you are in them paddling. All during the day, one of this trifecta of canoeing goodness eluded the members of this boat team for one reason or another. The CM and the Cub father attempted to paddle the runoff of a reservoir with disastrous results (though two really funny videos, one from the POV of the father in the front of the canoe thanks to a camera lashed to his PFD), something that I think was supposed to be a T-rescue but wound up being something more like a Japanese letter rescue, and the inability of the two of them to keep the boat steady through even calm water.
It was something that really needed to be experienced. I'm still waiting on other people's pictures to come in to really have the full story in image.
At any rate, we had a nice lunch on the river, the weather, though overcast was warm and at times just sunny enough to give everyone a little sunburn, and the river itself was 3.5' over normal, and running like fast and steady. Other than a little more sun, we couldn't have asked for a better day...
...well, less pushy ducks knocking on the side of the canoe for food would be nice. (I think they might have been visiting from Central Park...)
Unfortunately, my normal photographer was at the anime convention along with some of the Crew and several of my ASMs, so there aren't that many photos. I was taking them with my iPhone, and happily they are pretty clear considering I had a waterproof case it was in, and photographing through a wet piece of rubberized clear plastic. (That's why they might seem a little foggy). I was also alone in the canoe as I apparently can no longer so simple math without significant amounts of caffeine in my body, and it was hard to paddle, steer, and take pictures at the same time. Despite this, there is some video (I have to figure out how to post it) and a few pics here.
Want to know what happens? COME ALONG NEXT YEAR!
Sadly, is the last trip for us for the normal Scouting year. We will be heading to summer camp in July, and then we are done until September when school starts again. Now we can properly stow and clean the gear, and I'm going to go and get some sleep before I have to go to summer camp, and start this all over again in September.
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